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My name is Elizabeth and I just turned 28. I started piano when I was 17 but was only able to learn for 2 years and then left for school. But I had such a fabulous teacher that I never stopped thinking about one day retaking up the piano. About 2 years ago while still away from home I bought myself an affordable Yamaha touchtone keyboard and retook lessons for about 2 months...then I decided to move as school was finished.

When I moved here I locked for an afforable teacher who was willing to teach me every other week but apparently that didnt exist. Well at least not from anyone who was qualified...

I started looking again this month and I found a great teacher whom is able to accomodate my needs (I also work shiftwork so I cant have a set lesson time) and just gave me a free 30 minute trial this morning...which turned into 2 hours!! I cant believe her generousity!!!

Im so excited to get back into piano, and hope I can get back to where I was previously. I like pop, rock and Im enjoying exploring classical.

Also I love reading, sewing, quilting, and my new kitten!

I look forward to becoming part of this community!elizabeth

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Dont go to a hardware store looking for a loaf of bread

Hi, I'm Stefaan, 43 years old and from Belgium.7 years ago I rented a piano and took lessons for some time with a teacher. After a while I had to part with the teacher because she sometimes forgot the appointments or cancelled on the very last moment. I thought I could continu by myself, but eventually gave up due to lack of a structured learning scheme...Fast forward to several weeks ago: my daughter of 12 showed some interest in taking up piano, so I bought a Kawai CA65 last week and got going again. This time I'm learning from Alfreds Adults course and I have to say I find it well structured. Just don't like all the 'songs', but you can't have it all ... Right now I'm relearning Fur Elise ( at least the first 3 pages ) and it's going all right considering how long I didn't play.

My name is Jared Miller, I'm currently a 5th year senior at Auburn University. I am studying Accounting, and I will graduate in May of 2013 (can't wait!). I turned 23 this past August.

I have wanted to play piano for years, but we could never really afford lessons. I did play saxophone for about 10 years, and I also played French horn and various percussion instruments for band in high school. However, I found that I loved music, but didn't really love those instruments!

Fast forward to earlier this year. My roommate has a pretty nice electric piano in our apartment, and I had always wanted to learn, so I started playing around with it. I went through most of the Alfred Adult All-in-One Book 1 by myself, and then learned To Zanarkand (a wonderful piano piece by Nobuo Uematsu, a composer for the Final Fantasy game series).

I decided I wanted to get more serious about learning, so I sought out lessons. I saw that a friend of mine who was about to graduate with a degree in piano performance was looking to give lessons, so I decided to take from him! So, I've been taking lessons since mid-August. Currently, we are working through the "Little Music Book for Anna Magdalena Bach." So far I've learned the Minuet in G Major (4) and Minuet in G Minor (5), and I am currently working on Couperin's Rondeau (6) (Les Bergeries) and the Musette (22) (composer unknown).

Outside of piano, I love to sing, write music (though I haven't done that in a while, hope to get back into it soon!),read, watch football, baseball, and gymnastics, and I love playing board games with friends and family. That about sums me up!

Hi, my name is Dave. I'm 33y/o and I currently work as a remote area paramedic and have plenty of time to spare (fortunately) for piano practice. I've a Wife and child that live in the city (about 1800kms away) and I fly to and from work every fortnight. I have just recently been inspired to learn piano, though I have no previous instrument playing experience except from a little music theory at high school. I've always wanted to learn an instrument and I especially enjoy listening to piano music, hence the decision. There is only one piano teacher in the town that I work from, and he does not commence lessons til next year, so in the mean time I shall be working my way through Alfreds Adult Beginner book which seems to be fairly well recommended online and at the music store from which it was bought. This is a great forum, and I will be following/searching it regularly looking for advice and tips over the coming months.

Hi, my name is Evelyn and. I'm 14 and I'm from Indonesia. I've been learning piano ever since I was 6 and during the past 2 years I have been slacking off a lot due to personal reasons and I was totally unmotivated to continue playing and I even thought of quitting! (thank god I didn't!) Then last month, I watched a very amazing and motivating classical music themed movie and I became really motivated. I know it's silly but I have loads to thank to the producer and the staffs of the movie as well as the actors who have done such a great job. I'm now aiming for a good music college either in Singapore (NAFA), England (Royal) or France. But then again, my parents aren't really thrilled with the idea so I need to convince them that I'll be able to do it. I'm taking ABRSM exams (now grade 7) and I'm looking forward to participating in competitions as well as piano festivals.

I have lots of projects that I'm working on right now and I have dedicated myself fully to the piano although schoolwork still gets in the way sometimes but I still manage to practice 2-3 hours a day.

I'm really insecure about my short fingers and I have a terrible stage fright and also my memorization isn't that good. I'll play really good at home but when I'm playing in front of people my mind went blank. But I hope I'll survive this Sunday for my Christmas recital.

Hello my name is Brian from the Philippines, 25 years old. I began learning the instrument when I was six using my grandparent's Steinway and Sons. At the time of this post I don't have a full time job as I am the one taking care of our newborn.

My parents (especially my dad) was very strict when it comes to my piano lessons and practices. I can still remember that I was almost crying, begging him to put a halt to my lessons and tell my music teacher not to drop by for our weekly lessons. Worst part is that I was crying over a very simple folk song! Haha! Time came when he got me my own piano (It was a German made Kraus piano if I remember it right.) so that I could practice at home. Then at my request a Casio keyboard when I was at high school so that I can perform with a rock band. Sadly, I wasn't able to pursue music for college because computers were hyping up during those years and eventually my dad decided that I will get a more decent job if I will pursue a degree in computer studies than music. For more than 6 years I stopped playing the piano. I was only playing non weighted keyboards and the electric guitar for band gigs. I really didn't like the way it feels (keyboard) but I did learned a lot about it. I realized that my passion is really with the piano because after all of those years I still long to play a piano.

After a few years, I got married to my wife and now we have a beautiful 4month child whom I am planning to pass my knowledge about the black and white.

After shopping around for a sweet deal on a Digital Piano, (because an acoustic piano will tear a hole on our budget when it comes to it's maintenance) we got the Korg SP250 and I really hope that I will be able to regain the years that I have lost for not playing the same classic pieces that I was playing when I was a child. I have a lot of free time when the baby is asleep and that's when I sneak in to the piano for some practice.

I'm Mike, 33, Wales UK, grade 8 violin but brand new to piano (and loving it but so frustrated at the same time, wish I'd have chosen piano from the beginning!) I'm an airline pilot for British Airways based at LHR flying the 747.

Had a mid life crisis at 30 and decided I needed to so "ME" things, one of which was to try the piano!

Found an amazing teacher round the corner from me, and have been having lessons a shade over a year. Completed Alfreds Adult book 1 and 2, finished Carter Burwells Bellas Lullaby (twilight fans will know what I'm on about!) Working on Eric Claptons Wonderful Tonight!

Hi everyone! I'm new here, as of about a week or two ago. My name is Kristine. I'm a 37-year-old software engineer currently residing in Seattle, WA.

I came back to the piano about three years ago, after not having played for almost two decades (I took lessons as a child through high school). I'm currently taking both piano and harp lessons from the same teacher, who is wonderful -- if anyone is looking for a piano and/or harp teacher in the Seattle metro area, I'd love to recommend her!

I recently purchased my first piano (a sort of early 40th birthday gift to myself!) and kind of went whole hog with it by buying a Schimmel grand, which I am now desperately trying to live up to. The pieces I'm currently working on are Debussy's Dr Gradus ad Parnassum (I am utterly amazed by anyone who can play this at tempo) and Michael Newman's The Heart Asks Pleasure First (from the movie The Piano). I'm hoping to start learning some Gershwin songs next.

hi what can I say... I am 49, female live in the UK and love the piano. Started learning four years ago and have taken Grades 1,2, and 3. Not sure about doing Grade 4 yet as I want a break from the stress of exams. My teacher has said I can have a three month break and then study for the next exam. I just want to relax a little before the hard graft of the next exam

Hello! I'm new here, I registered a few days ago to sign up for MOYD 2013 (but during the last here I followed the ABF).I'm 43, italian (sorry for my funny English) and I re-started studying piano in October 2011, after a 25 year stop; in fact I had lessons when I was 12-15 (I was not motivated, and my parents stop paying the teacher).Now I'm taking lessons with a wonderful teacher, and I'm allowed to negotiate the repertoire to be studied.I'm working on one of Bach Inventions (number 8, almost OK), one Scarlatti sonata (K78, quite difficult but starting to have a shape), Schumann Album for the Young (this was decided by the teacher, I find Schumann very hard), one of the Chopin preludes op. 20 (n. 20 in c minor) and one Czerny study (I'm WAY WAY under a decent tempo with it, and I started months ago).I have to negotiate my practice time with my job, my family and the fact that both my children take piano lesson and use my beloved upright); so my time is usually late in the evening, with the digital, when I'm very tired!For some extra motivation I joined the MODY 2013.

Hello, I'm 45 and this is my first year taking lessons.I live in Spain. I started lessons on September, but previous year I began with theory classes, too.I'm having a lot of fun, so far, and my teachers say I'm doing well.This forums are a great help for me, because I'm taking instrument lessons only for 1/2 hour per week (and 1 1/2 of theory and reading). It is so little time that I try to complement my learning on the web, and reading some basic harmony books, or transcribing some sheets with musescore, and so on.I've learned some DP basics on the DP's forum, and already purchased one. Now I'm focusing mostly in adult beginner's forum and teacher's one, too, for I'm a little disorientated with my piano teacher. But this is to be spoken in a proper thread.Thans everybody here for being so kind and sharing so much.

UKIkarus
Full Member
Registered: 03/05/13
Posts: 338
Loc: England, South East

Greetings,

I'm 23 male and have been playing for 1.5 years, have had lessons for about 5 months now initially starting by ear and general experimentation.

I had initially wanted to play piano and keyboard for years but never took it up or had the funding to do so until recently, unfortunately I could never get an upright as I simply don't have the room available to me at the moment so ended up going digital, looking for active communities that enjoy music and playing a variety of instruments to make friends, learn a thing or two and contribute anything I have to offer.

I am also part of several other smaller communities based around piano/music in general and enjoy listening to and learning from others on a daily basis, often taking turns streaming on-line and sharing recordings with others.

I hope someday that I can achieve my goals and go on to enjoy music for many years to come.

UKIkarus
Full Member
Registered: 03/05/13
Posts: 338
Loc: England, South East

I am quite fond of all types of music in general however, I am leaning more towards classical as of late as I have found my technique could use some improvements... I'm hoping pieces from Chopin will help with independence, accuracy, control and technique.

Of course I am still a beginner for now, but we all have to start somewhere right? I am trying to strengthen my right hand coordination a bit (which is ironic since I am right handed) and learn how to do basic runs with both hands in a multitude of keys just general strengthening in any area I can as to improve overall.

I do find myself playing a lot of slower more mellow pieces but I do occasionally play something a little faster or with a little more bounce so it's really dependent on how I feel at the time... I enjoy improvising and experimenting too as it helps to learn what works and what doesn't work so well.

Hi!My name is Tina. I just turned 40, and the same weekend I bought a used piano for my 8 year old daughter. She's been taking lessons for almost a year now on a little keyboard and doing really well, and still loving it. So I took the plunge and found an old, but really well-maintained Baldwin Acrosonic console on Craigslist. We've had it about two weeks now, and I keep finding myself sitting down to mess around and winding up spending half hour to an hour.

I took lessons for a couple years when I was my daughter's age (maybe 8-11 years old?) then dropped the piano and took up the flute all through middle school and high school. Now that we have an actual piano, I decided to try to re-teach myself. I bought the Alfred's All-In-One coursebook (book #1) and a book of very simplified classical pieces.

The beginning of the Alfred's is a review, but I'm trying to make sure I still read everything and do all the exercises. I also printed off some note recognition flashcards. I'm finding I have no trouble recognizing the treble notes, but I'm awful with the bass notes. Must be all the flute playing.:) I made it through about 19 pages of Alfred's and played through the first piece in the classical book several times last night. It was fun! I am really impatient to get the piano tuned....but waiting a few more weeks to let it settle in.

Finding time to practice regularly will be my challenge as I have a husband, three kids 10 and under, a puppy and a full-time job. I'm hoping posting on here will keep me motivated. I'll admit, though, I'm terrified at the thought of recording myself and posting it. Not to mention I have no clue how to do that.

Hi!My name is Tina. I just turned 40, and the same weekend I bought a used piano for my 8 year old daughter. She's been taking lessons for almost a year now on a little keyboard and doing really well, and still loving it. So I took the plunge and found an old, but really well-maintained Baldwin Acrosonic console on Craigslist. We've had it about two weeks now, and I keep finding myself sitting down to mess around and winding up spending half hour to an hour.

I took lessons for a couple years when I was my daughter's age (maybe 8-11 years old?) then dropped the piano and took up the flute all through middle school and high school. Now that we have an actual piano, I decided to try to re-teach myself. I bought the Alfred's All-In-One coursebook (book #1) and a book of very simplified classical pieces.

The beginning of the Alfred's is a review, but I'm trying to make sure I still read everything and do all the exercises. I also printed off some note recognition flashcards. I'm finding I have no trouble recognizing the treble notes, but I'm awful with the bass notes. Must be all the flute playing.:) I made it through about 19 pages of Alfred's and played through the first piece in the classical book several times last night. It was fun! I am really impatient to get the piano tuned....but waiting a few more weeks to let it settle in.

Finding time to practice regularly will be my challenge as I have a husband, three kids 10 and under, a puppy and a full-time job. I'm hoping posting on here will keep me motivated. I'll admit, though, I'm terrified at the thought of recording myself and posting it. Not to mention I have no clue how to do that.

Hi Tina, and welcome to PW!You are in right place to find the motivation you need. PW is full of rich information to help you in your (new) journey. Nice to know that your daughter is taking lessons and loves to play piano.

Hi, I'm John, 28, from Liverpool, UK. I started playing in October last year, and have been taking lessons since December. I have a Yamaha P105, which is good enough for me for the time being Currently working my way through (and getting towards the end of) the first book of the Carol Barratt and Michael Aaron adult courses. Been lurking here for a while but thought it was time to start getting involved! Look forward to seeing you all around.

No musical background really, unless you count playing the drums for a year or two while I was at school (although I guess having a pretty good sense of rhythm has helped with my piano playing so far). I've always liked classical music and always wanted to learn piano, but never got round to it for one reason or another, so decided last year that it was time to do something about it My dad plays to a reasonable standard, so that was another motivation - just wish he had got me interested when I was young(er)!

I see you're going to see Einaudi this month? He is playing in Liverpool on 15th April but I missed out on tickets Also missing out on a Yundi Li recital that same week!

No musical background really, unless you count playing the drums for a year or two while I was at school (although I guess having a pretty good sense of rhythm has helped with my piano playing so far). I've always liked classical music and always wanted to learn piano, but never got round to it for one reason or another, so decided last year that it was time to do something about it My dad plays to a reasonable standard, so that was another motivation - just wish he had got me interested when I was young(er)!

I see you're going to see Einaudi this month? He is playing in Liverpool on 15th April but I missed out on tickets Also missing out on a Yundi Li recital that same week!

Nice to know that your dad is a pianist. unfortunately my parents are not musicians... I always liked piano and I also started late. But the passion is growing!

Einaudi is "selling" very well. I bought my tickets almost 2 months in advance to guarantee the tickets.Check his page on facebook about internet broadcasts of live concerts (sometimes it happens), like this one he did at home:Ludovico Einaudi - In a Time Lapse, live from home

[quote=CarlosCCHi Tina, and welcome to PW!You are in right place to find the motivation you need. PW is full of rich information to help you in your (new) journey. Nice to know that your daughter is taking lessons and loves to play piano.

Thanks for the links.Although after browsing through the latest recital and seeing people with 30+ years of experience, I'm even less inclined to record anything I play! As for favorite composers, I guess I have fairly eclectic taste. I'd find it difficult to choose just one or two. Primarily classical. Not really into jazz at all. For fun maybe a little popular music...movie theme songs and I'd love to learn to play Imagine by John Lennon. Maybe I'll look that one up and see if I can find an easy version.

Thanks for the links.Although after browsing through the latest recital and seeing people with 30+ years of experience, I'm even less inclined to record anything I play! As for favorite composers, I guess I have fairly eclectic taste. I'd find it difficult to choose just one or two. Primarily classical. Not really into jazz at all. For fun maybe a little popular music...movie theme songs and I'd love to learn to play Imagine by John Lennon. Maybe I'll look that one up and see if I can find an easy version.

C'mon, ABF recitals are a great place to share your progress. It's a oportunity to read comments of people with large experience and, most important, to keep you with a goal to achieve. At the same time you will listen pieces of all the styles and composers wich fits perfectly on what you're looking for. You'll contact with composeres unknown for you at the time, therefore, you'll get "richer". My first recital was in 2010 and I had less then a year of experience. I'm not regreat.

I'm not sure, but I think the average of ABF participants it's not 30+ years of experience. I would say it's an average of 10 years(?) of experience. Just a clue.

I'm sure you'll find easy versions of popular songs. Just search the internet (PW included!) or buy some books.

Hello, I have just joined this site and am enjoying all of the links about practice and reading on the forum! My name is Codi, I am from Cape Girardeau Missouri.

I have returned to piano about 4 years ago after a 20 year break. I took lessons when I was 9 or so, for a couple years, but then began guitar. Now I play and practice piano every day. It seems a lot harder now! I like to learn songs from the 90's and songs from movies. My pianos are a Cable Nelson upright and a 1920ish Wurlitzer baby grand (W is the one I play mostly because it is so loud!).

Other things: I live in the country with forests and meadows and creeks and rocks.My professional work is taxidermy.I have a cat.I like to go fishing and play outside when it is sunny.